when i took office we were losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month and were mired in iraq. today i believe that as nation we are moving forward again. >> more americans are living in po verity than when president obama took office. my plan will create 12 million new jobs over the next 4 years. helping lift families out of poverty and strengthening the middle class. >> does this signal a new phase of the ad wars and this campaign? i'm joined now by democratic strategist steve and deputy manager for john kerry and by former republican governor of michigan. good morning, gentlemen. >> good morning. >> steve, what do you think? is this the new face of the campaign? does it help most candidates to be more direct and obviously very different than some of the attack ads we've seen, especially from the super pacs? >> all campaigns have a rhythm and as you get closer to the end, people understand that there's a choice between two people at the top of the ticket. and they want to hear from them directly about what their plans are for the american people. we believe this election is a